"So What's the Words…": A Long Island Slave to Rock And Roll Homecoming

In an era when fewer musical acts have any degree of staying power, it is nearly inconceivable to imagine Long Island’s incomparable Mazarin returning home this weekend not to reunite, but to continue a journey that began nearly four decades ago while simultaneously celebrating the long awaited release of their first full-length album, "Live Forever".

“The entire recording process took more than two years to complete,” recounted bass player Scott Duryea who produced the record. “In April of 2011, we laid down the first four rhythm tracks and it was a truly magical feeling. Here we were members of this family we always knew we had, but were only now rediscovering.”

The road to Live Forever began in the 1970’s when brothers Doug and Marc Hochlerin followed a dream like so many others before them and decided to form a band. The title of the record can be taken almost literally as Mazarin seems to be doing just that, having far outlived most of their contemporaries that played the same circuit.

“I wanted every song on the album to be different,” explained Doug, who penned eleven of the fifteen cuts and co-wrote the title track. Covering a broad spectrum of different styles including country, calypso, a traditional Irish folk tune and the straight ahead rock and roll sound the Rockers have long been known for, Live Forever profiles the scope and emotion of the songwriter, who in the mid 1990’s suffered a major blow when he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis “He never complained. On nights when he could barely garner the strength, he would get up on that stage and rock the house, treating every show as if it might be the last,” Duryea recalled.

During the 80’s, Mazarin was featured alongside such notables as Twisted Sister and Bon Jovi on three major market FM radio compilation records. They were the only band voted number one byGood Times Magazine for an unprecedented four years running. Legendary producer Roger Nichols (Steely Dan, Crosby Stills & Nash) lent his expertise on a number of Mazarin originals. Recently, their first single, The Only One was cited number one in a Huffington Post article entitled 10 Amazing Pop Songs and Ballads You May Have Missed.

“We touched a lot of lives,” drummer Marc Hochlerin humbly stated. “When you think about how many people supported us in the past and how many are still here today, that means a lot!”

Over the last few years, the band has sold out numerous shows in several venues including New York City’s renowned Supper Club and The Cutting Room, but the debilitating disease began to take hold on its founding member. “Doug said to me one night, ‘I have all of these great songs I’ve written that nobody has ever heard and that no one will ever hear." That sentiment resonated with Duryea. He reached out to fellow bass player and skilled recording engineer Joey Perez of Broken Arrow; another iconic Long Island band. “Step by step, Joey painstakingly taught me the recording process. Too many dollars later, I purchased everything I needed to make this happen and then approached Doug. Immediately, he started rattling off the names and histories of these songs he wanted to record.”

Since its release in June, Live Forever has been in regular rotation on radio stations across Long Island and upstate New York & Spotify.

"This is a band of friends. A band is so much more than just a bunch of musicians standing on a stage playing music,’ Doug once said in a 1983 college radio interview. That fact holds as true today as it did over thirty years ago. The album features far more than just the core of the band. Friends and former members were not enlisted, but rather lined up to appear both on the recording and onstage “This is what Mazarin has always been about. The response to the record has been just overwhelming and thanks to the extended Mazarin family, my songs have found a home.”

Mazarin celebrates their Long Island homecoming this Saturday night October 19th at Mulcahy’s of Wantagh. For further information and directions visit www.muls.com or call 516-783-7500.

MAZARIN WRCN-FM JVC Broadcasting 10/11/13

The "Classic Rock" station is located on Long Island and represented a reunion of sorts for the band as it's 1982 Hit Single "Slave to Rock and Roll" made its major market debut on WRCN and charted at #10. WRCN represents a location and demographic that has been a strong fan/listener foundation for the band for 30 years!

In this appearance on 'Brando's" morning drive-time show the band talked about current events, SPORTS and of course music.

Three songs were aired from MAZARIN's new CD "Live Forever" and the title track was performed LIVE in the studio by Marc "Mazarin" Hochlerin, Doug Hochlerin, Scott Duryea, Ari Lesser & Joey (Broken Arrow) Perez.

Excerpts from the appearance will be available to fans and the press on mazarinmusic.com November 1st.

Long Island Band Mazarin to Stage Homecoming at Mulcahy's, 10/19

Fresh from its smash, sold-out show at the Cutting Room in Manhattan, Long Island's own legendary rock 'n' roll band Mazarin, the original "Slaves to Rock and Roll," is coming home to celebrate the release of its new CD, Live Forever, with a special concert at Mulcahy's in Wantagh on Saturday, October 19, at 7:30 p.m.

Natives of Port Washington, the Mazarin brothers-front man Doug Hochlerin and his brother, drummer Marc Hochlerin-will be joined in their high energy program (which left the overflowing Cutting Room audience screaming and stomping for more) by current members of the band-guitarists Scott Duryea, Elliot Negrin, and Ari Lesser; keyboardist and original Mazarin member Glenn Mack; and percussionist Wayne Sabosto.

Guest artists include Joey Perez of the Long Island's famed Broken Arrow band; Eamonn O'Rourke, fiddler from Kathy Mattea's country/bluegrass band; and sax man Kevin Suppina. Mazarin's program ranges from some of its classic originals, which are included in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame, to songs from its acclaimed new CD, currently being aired on radio stations in Long Island and Woodstock, NY.

Among Mazarin's classic songs are "Single Living in New York," "Rockers," and "The Only One," which the Huffington Post recently named "a classic, timeless pop song" with "a 1950's swing, a 1960's kick, and funny 1970s lyrics."

Live Forever, Mazarin's exciting and acclaimed new album, includes 15 original songs "everyone different," according to Doug, and every one marked with the energy, passion, attitude, and high-power harmonies well known to Mazarin audiences.

Mazarin is the only group ever voted New York's No. 1 rock band three times by Good Times Magazine. The band was listed in 1980's radio "best of" compilations with Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister and was invited to represent New York City at the South by Southwest Festival, the famed Austin, Texas, showcase of bands from around the world. Mazarin's veteran musicians have played with members of a who's who of music-history-making, chart-topping bands, among them, Kiss, the Billy Joel Band, Average White Band. Gary U.S. Bonds, Mountain, Orleans, Twisted Sister, Hot Tuna, the Bryan Adams Band, Nirvana, and many more.

Opening for Mazarin on October 19 will be the PureMotion, Connecticut's dynamic rock, funk, jam, reggae, and jazz band in its first Long Island performance.

Mulcahy's, a premier landmark on Long Island, is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. Come early to enjoy a drink from bartenders named the best on Long Island by the Long Island Press.

Musical taste is wildly subjective. I like all genres of music as long as the music conveys extraordinary emotions. If you are familiar with my psychotherapy work and DVDs you know that I believe that our society tolerates an extremely narrow bandwidth of emotions; the underlying psychological purpose of music is to allow us to cathartically experience some of the emotions that would otherwise be deemed unseemly by our fellow pedestrians.

I grew up listening to rock music - Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Pink Floyd, Boston, Queen, Rush - now often divided into "Classic Rock" and "Hard Rock" - as well as "Alternative Music," which during the 1980s were these weird little rebellious bands that couldn't get onto mainstream radio, e.g. U2, R.E.M., Elvis Costello, The Talking Heads, The Cure, The Smiths, et al.

After university I lived in Manhattan where I found out the real meaning of "alternative" by frequenting places such as the Knitting Factory (then on Houston Street) and experiencing musicians such as John Lurie and the Lounge Lizards (with at various times John Medeski on keys and Marc Ribot on guitar), John Zorn and Bill Frissell. At the same time, I made no bones about using my expired student ID to finagle my way into Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall whenever possible.

I still go to rock shows but I would much rather see Patti Smith at the Troubadour reciting "Piss Factory" like a homeless person in Tompkins Square Park, than waste my time watching David Lee Roth act like a buffoon at the Staples Arena while he massacres beautiful Van Halen songs.

Over the years I've collected 23,503 songs according to my iTunes account and below are ten recordings that I doubt many of you have ever heard but I think you will enjoy. The only common threads I find in my choices are funky bass lines, heavy drum sounds, boppy horn riffs, luscious guitar lines, densely layered crescendos, and heartfelt singing of somewhat ironic lyrics or tearjerking poetry. Plus the fact that not many of these songs spent much if any time on American radio (unless you consider KCRW to be located in America) even though they all have more hooks than Bubba's Bait & Tackle Shop. One of the below choices is a blatantly dated, cheesy early 80s tune but I hope that you'll forgive the tinny synthesized sounds (produced by a young man named Jimmy Iovine) and appreciate the lush vocals and brilliant songwriting.

So here goes:

"The Only One" by Mazarin - This is a classic, timeless pop song. It has a 1950's swing, a 1960's kick, and funny 1970s lyrics. The drums are tribal, the bass seamlessly wafts through, and the sax and guitars rock it forward. If Bow Bow Wow's "I Want Candy" could last for twenty years on the radio then so could "The Only One" if someone had given it a shot.

It was hot outdoors last Saturday, June 1, but even hotter indoors, when the one and only Mazarin and the band's special guests packed every seat in the Cutting Room with a rocking 90-minute program to celebrate the release of its new CD, "Live Forever". Click below for photos of Mazarin onstage!

It was hot outdoors last Saturday, June 1, but even hotter indoors, when the one and only Mazarin and the band's special guests packed every seat in the Cutting Room with a rocking 90-minute program to celebrate the release of its new CD, "Live Forever". Click below for photos of Mazarin onstage!

Following their triumphant June Sold-Out concert performance at NYC's Cutting Room The one and only MAZARIN proves that rock ‘n’ roll lives with the release of their new album “Live Forever.” The CD comprises 15 new original songs, “every one different,” according to MAZARIN co-founder and lead singer Doug Hochlerin. He’s not kidding, but each and every one is marked with the energy, passion, and the high-power harmonies well known to the legendary Long Island band’s audiences.

Eleven of the songs were written by Doug and range from the high energy “Rock It Up” to “Molly Malone,” with the amazing singer/songwriter Ed Ryan, Lisa Ronson of The Secret History Band, and Battalion Chief Pete Gannon, a piper with the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums; and on to “Donny,” a bit of political satire; and “Shake Your Body and Rock,” featuring the driving guitar of Elliot Negrin and the boozy trombone of Jazz star Bill Cantrall.

Four additional songs were written by band member and producer of the CD, Scott Duryea.

MAZARIN is the only band ever voted New York’s No. 1 rock band three times by Good Times Music Magazine, and its original music is included in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame Discography. The band was included on 1980’s radio “best of” compilations with Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister, and represented New York City as a featured act at the South by Southwest Festival at the famed Austin, Texas showcase of bands from around the world.

MAZARIN is dedicating "Live Forever" to the memory of bandmate, friend, drummer Louie Appel, who passed in 2010 and whose voice opens the album’s title song, “Live Forever.”

"Live Forever", I've played it six times and it get better with every play" "digging into the rest of this record" - Ron VanWarmer -WDST 100.1 Radio Woodstock.

"This is one tasty sucker" "unexpected" "Live Forever is a fantastic new record from Mazarin" "In our rack and in steady rotation". "Our listeners are loving this record and "The Living End"- Kevin Program Director WUSB 98.3FM

MAZARIN RELEASES ALBUM OF 15 NEW SONGS “LIVE FOREVER”

Available now on iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon

For immediate release, July 7th, 2013:

Following their triumphant June Sold-Out concert performance at NYC's Cutting Room The one and only MAZARIN proves that rock ‘n’ roll lives with the release of their new album “Live Forever.” The CD comprises 15 new original songs, “every one different,” according to MAZARIN co-founder and lead singer Doug Hochlerin. He’s not kidding, but each and every one is marked with the energy, passion, and the high-power harmonies well known to the legendary Long Island band’s audiences.

Eleven of the songs were written by Doug and range from the high energy “Rock It Up” to “Molly Malone,” with the amazing singer/songwriter Ed Ryan, Lisa Ronson of The Secret History Band, and Battalion Chief Pete Gannon, a piper with the FDNY Emerald Society Pipes and Drums; and on to “Donny,” a bit of political satire; and “Shake Your Body and Rock,” featuring the driving guitar of Elliot Negrin and the boozy trombone of Jazz star Bill Cantrall. Four additional songs were written by band member and producer of the CD, Scott Duryea.

MAZARIN is the only band ever voted New York’s No. 1 rock band three times by Good Times Music Magazine, and its original music is included in the Long Island Music Hall of Fame Discography. The band was included on 1980’s radio “best of” compilations with Bon Jovi and Twisted Sister, and represented New York City as a featured act at the South by Southwest Festival at the famed Austin, Texas showcase of bands from around the world.

MAZARIN is dedicating "Live Forever" to the memory of bandmate, friend, drummer Louie Appel, who passed in 2010 and whose voice opens the album’s title song, “Live Forever.”

MAZARIN "Live Forever" Produced, arranged, and recorded by Scott Duryea

"Live Forever", I've played it six times and it get better with every play" "digging into the rest of this record" - Ron VanWarmer -WDST 100.1 Radio Woodstock.

"This is one tasty sucker" "unexpected" "Live Forever is a fantastic new record from Mazarin" "In our rack and in steady rotation". "Our listeners are loving this record and "The Living End"- Kevin Program Director WUSB 98.3FM

MAZARIN STILL NUMBER ONE IN NEW YORK

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Cutting Rooms Susan Hathaway And Steve Walter

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Doug Mazarin

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MAZARIN, New York's favorite band for 30 years once again returned to the famed Cutting Room on West 24th street in New York City. Believe it or not, I have been rocking with them for all three decades. Back in the day, the drinking age was 18, drivers licenses had no photo on them and you were partying in the clubs as young as 14 as long as your license description matched you. I met them when they first played at The Wooden Ships Inn in Glenwood Landing Long Island. Times were so different then. You could drink and drive. Everyone smoked marijuana. I would drive by a cop with a beer in one hand and a joint in the other and they would wave at me. If you ever got pulled over, they would either tell you to drive more carefully or take you home themselves. Everyone knew everyone back then, there was a community. Mazarin was my family. We had more adventures than I can even remember. There was Hot Dog Beach where I fell of the stage while trying to introduce them and had a mouth full of sand. I later passed out and only woke up when the tide came in and I was floating. There was Dingy Dans in the Rockaways where I got stranded because I was getting laid on the beach. Lucky I found Doug Mazarin roaming around and he drove me back to Long Island. I did a strip tease on the stage at the Wooden Ships Inn. Didn't even remember until the next night people kept asking me if I was keeping my clothes on tonight. We had Rum Runners in Oyster Bay where hundreds of girls would line up to talk to Doug And Marc Mazarin. We had our own babysitter at the Wooden Ships Inn who saw more guys than the Mayflower Madam. Times have changed, but one thing remains the same. Mazarin is still the number one band in New York. They are still rocking after all these years. Voted so many times the top band in New York by Good Times Magazine, they still continue to pack any place they play. Last night was no exception. The place was mobbed, packed to the hill. And 30 years later, we are still standing after surviving the 70's and 80's, a little older but still Rockin N Rolling !